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Dell trims workforce, says it's taking 'proactive steps to prepare for uncertainties' mid-pandemic

Some argument over exact numbers affected

Dell is laying off staff though there is some dispute over the numbers involved.

An anonymous source told The Register today roughly six per cent of the IT giant's 160,000-strong global workforce will learn over the coming month, if not already this week, that their careers at the IT giant are over. Claims of similar numbers were earlier circulating on jobs discussion boards.

However, people familiar with the layoffs, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Register the actual figure is lower than six per cent, and could be fewer than 2,000 staffers.

In a statement, Dell told us the job cuts are not related to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, and were planned at the start of the year before the bio-nasty rocked national economies. Though, having said that, it said it is taking "proactive steps" to offset the effects of the virus outbreak:

Like all businesses right now, we’re taking a number of proactive steps to prepare for the uncertainties presented by COVID-19. We recently made some workforce reductions that reflect decisions made in early 2020 as part of regular evaluations of our business structure, and weren’t related to the pandemic.

A spokesperson declined to comment on the extent of the job cuts.

We can't help but notice Dell's sizable stash of debt: according to its latest financial filings, the American tech titan owes $36bn. And it is exploring selling off the 81 per cent chunk of VMware it owns that is not publicly traded. In May, Dell halted its 401(K) matching and froze pay raises and hiring.

Word of the cuts, however large or small, come as Uncle Sam's Bureau of Economic Analysis said America's GDP decreased at an annual rate of 32.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020. ®

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